February 19, 2013

Review: Entanglement by Dan Rix

Hotheaded heartthrob Aaron Harper is scheduled to meet his half in twenty-nine days, and he doesn’t buy a word of that entanglement crap. So what if he and his half were born the same day and share a spooky psychic connection? Big deal. After breaking one too many teenage girls’ hearts, he’ll stick to brawling with the douchebag rugby players any day.

Until the day a new girl arrives at school and threatens everything he takes for granted.

Cold and unapproachable, Amber Lilian hates the growing list of similarities between her and the one boy she can’t read, Aaron: born the same day, both stubborn, both terrified of meeting their halves. . . . All the more reason not to trust him. That she would rather die than surrender herself as her half’s property is none of his damn business. But once lost in Aaron’s dangerous, jet black eyes, she’s already surrendered more than she cares to admit.Tangled in each other’s self-destructive lives, Aaron and Amber learn the secret behind their linked births and why they feel like halves—but unless they can prove it before they turn eighteen, Aaron faces a lifetime alone in a world where everyone else has a soul mate . . . and he’ll have to watch Amber give herself to a boy who intends to possess not only her body but also a chunk of her soul.

The idea and plot behind Entanglement was very intriguing. I read a chapter sample and was hooked instantly so I accepted the review pitch from the author immediately. I loved the idea that Aaron and Harper are different. One is hotheaded and the other is just angry at the world. I believed this is a recipe for denial, awkward situations, and just a great romance. Add in the whole entanglement idea and I just couldn't wait to start it.

Entanglement however, wasn't what the first chapter promised. I loved the first chapter, but from there, the characters and the plot became less interesting with the progression of the novel. I felt both characters fell in love way too fast and were a bit too Romeo and Juliet for my liking. I felt that with the introduction of the entanglement, and the whole world now accepting the proven idea that each person has literal soulmate, that we would dive deeper into the science of it and the originality. In the old days, people didn't know about the halves idea and they married whomever they loved, but nowadays it is predestined, from the moment you are born, your half is determined, and if, by any chance, that half dies, you will also end up as an empty shell or die soon.

What I found confusing is that, the halves theory was a discovery, not an invention, meaning it was always a part of our make-up.. how come in the old days they weren't affected by the halves and the connection they have with each other, but now it has become a life or death situation? that was my biggest issue with this novel.. i felt it was a bit inconsistent in the scientific ideas and also focused way too much on the forbidden love between both characters. I must say that I enjoyed the side characters more than the main ones, especially Aaron's friend. But one thing that really annoyed me was the lack of parents, especially Aaron's. He wouldn't come home for the whole night, get beaten up and end up in the hospital, and skip school, and somehow his parents don't know anything. It was a bit unrealistic since they are actually portrayed as nice parents.

Overall, I think that if there was less romance in the novel, and more action, I would have loved the novel. However with the way it is, the whole idea and the whole juvengamy theory were superb. The other stuff that annoyed me weren't major and I did find myself enjoying the novel. Yes, some things were left unexplained, but in the end the story did wrap up well. I would definitely recommend this book to Sci-Fi fans that enjoy romance in their novels.

Parental absence, indifference, or obliviousness is always frustrating for me in YA, and it's a rare book that incorporates family into the story itself. It's too bad Aaron's parents are the fairly oblivious type:( I haven't heard about this one before but the insta-love is something I need a little bit of a break from for now! Thanks for your thoughts Juhina!

yea, i really don't understand why authors choose to omit parents from novels. It doesn't feel realistic when they do that. As for the romance, it wasn't insta love-ish.. it just got too intense too soon.

Oh boo! I love it when a book really grabs you from the very first chapter but when it doesn't live up to it it's the biggest downfall! Too bad this one wasn't as great as you were hoping I would probably get annoyed about the logic behind the world building as well. And it does sound confusing! Great review, muffin!

I haven't seen this book around, and I have to say the cover isn't that appealing to me, but the synopsis I liked. I think it would annoy me that the world is half explained though, so I understand where you're coming from.